The Best and Worst Celebrity Brand Plays of 2013

Beyonce attends a release party and screening for her new self-titled album “Beyonce” on Dec. 21 in New York.

Getty Images

For a celebrity these days, nothing is more important than how the world perceives his or her brand. The Hollywood Industrial Complex is consistently on the hunt for the next best thing and in an entertainment ecosystem where being famous is enough to generate revenue, there is a constant push to cut through the clutter of content—of tweets and memes, viral videos, reality shows and publicity stunts—to steal a small sliver of consumer mindshare for your brand.

For better or worse, how a famous person lives off camera can have a major effect on whether her brand remains lucrative.

Some celebrities really played the game right in the past 12 months, bolstering their brands with plays as varied as having a meltdown, starting a new relationship and procreating. Still, others did their brands more harm than good in 2013 by missing out on a potential positive branding opportunity or squandering years of consumer goodwill.

Here we take a look at some of the brand winners and losers in the past year.

1. Beyoncé proved Beyoncé doesn’t need anyone but Beyoncé.

When she released 14 new songs on iTunes promoted only by a message on Instagram and the subsequent swell of Internet chatter, Beyoncé Knowles proved the self-fulfilling prophecy that her brand is bigger than the Pop Music Industrial Complex. The album, the singer’s fifth, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. It sold 617,000 units in the U.S. in its first week and more than one million albums around the globe. Beyoncé not only proved her brand strength with the unorthodox move, she bolstered her brand even further, creating a multiplier effect of brand power that will trickle into 2014. Consumer brands, desperate for the kind of firestorm she is capable of generating, will look to link their brands to Beyoncé in the new year.

2. Miley Cyrus’s well-timed breakdown.

What good is the old-fashioned meltdown if it isn’t perfectly timed to the release of your first adult music album? When the former child star gyrated seductively onstage in various states of undress with pop star Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards in August, many critics described Ms. Cyrus’s antics as a breakdown. She had recently split from her fiancé, the actor Liam Hemsworth, and wasted no time crying onstage as she performed “Wrecking Ball,” a ballad about their breakup in nearly every public appearance. In our voyeuristic, celebrity-obsessed economy, showing that kind of naked emotion can pay off. In the midst of her personal drama, the singer had her first No. 1 single on the Billboard 100 music charts.

3. Nothing boosts your brand in Hollywood like having a baby.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian made the second most famous baby of the year. North West is no Prince George, but her early arrival in June did serve to bolster the brands of both of her parents. The merger of any two multi-media megabrands can be a difficult thing, but reality star Kim Kardashian and controversial rapper Kanye West made their union a success with the introduction of their daughter this summer. Not only has North West provided the couple with publicity galore (most of it positive), but she has softened the sharp edges of both personalities and provided a plethora of possible new revenue streams for 2014—designer baby clothes, baby songs and perhaps even baby bling.

4. Tigers Woods’s relationship reboot.

The professional golfer managed to dim the stain of his 2011 infidelity scandal with a shiny new relationship with Olympian Lindsay Vonn this year. They officially announced their union on their Facebook pages in March with a staged photo shoot that gave prominence to their brand endorsements, Under Armour for her and Nike for him. They walked their first red carpet together at the Met Gala in May and have since given carefully worded interviews expressing their mutual love and respect. The message was clear: If Mr. Woods, with all of his baggage, was good enough for an American sweetheart like Ms. Vonn, shouldn’t he be good enough to work with any brand?

5. Miranda Lambert’s well-timed weight loss.

Already beloved by country music fans and her very famous television star husband Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert made a miraculous brand play when she unveiled her fit new body at the Country Music Awards in November, landing her on the cover of celebrity magazines and providing the kind of mainstream brand power of country crossover stars like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

Now, the five worst celebrity brand plays of 2013:

1. Lindsay Lohan’s failed comeback.

The much-maligned actress appeared poised to finally make a long-awaited comeback in 2013 following a 90-day stint in rehab, a feat that should have been simple since the only thing America loves more than celebrity babies is a good celebrity redemption narrative. Even Oprah took her under her wing, making her the celebrity starlet version of a book club. But Lohan has failed to capitalize on her opportunity. Her continued partying and erratic behavior, coupled with what some saw as an insincere interview with Ms. Winfrey, has kept Ms. Lohan’s brand strength low and left her in a vulnerable position entering 2014. Her return to the big screen in the independent feature film “The Canyons” was panned by critics.

2. Paula Deen’s racist reveal.

No celebrity will be happier to see 2013 come to a close than Paula Deen. The once ubiquitous food network chef, lover of butter and lard, saw her brand strength plummet when she was forced to admit to using a racial slur. She was subsequently dropped by the Food Network and many of her sponsors. Deen smartly retreated from the spotlight following a tearful “Today Show” apology. There is no telling what 2014 will hold for Ms. Deen, but what is clear is that her brand has a long climb back to the top.

3. Phil Robertson’s homophobic rant.

The patriarch of A&E’s popular “Duck Dynasty” brand made controversial remarks about homosexuals during an interview with GQ magazine that led to his suspension from the show in December. While sponsors appeared to stick with the Duck brand in the early days of the public relations crisis, their future is still uncertain going into the new year. It remains to be seen how fans and consumers will respond when it comes to watching their program and buying the multitude of Duck branded goods currently on the market and slated for 2014.

4. Charlie Hunnam’s rejection of “50 Shades of Grey.”

Few, outside of loyal fans of “Sons of Anarchy,” knew much about actor Charlie Hunnam before he was tapped for the role of Christian Grey in what is anticipated to be the most lucrative franchise of the next three years, the big screen adaptation of the erotic “50 Shades of Grey” books. While Mr. Hunnam may have held onto his credibility as a serious actor, by walking away from the role of Mr. Grey he may have lost out on the chance to become a household name and a blockbuster celebrity brand.

5. Alec Baldwin’s poor choice of words.

2013 was an exciting year for actor Alec Baldwin, as he shifted his brand onto a new media platform with a commentary show on the cable news network MSNBC. But “Up Late With Alec Baldwin,” was cancelled in November after Mr. Baldwin allegedly yelled a homophobic slur at a photographer trying to take his photograph. The actor and the network released a statement announcing that they had agreed to part ways which meant that his brand lost out on the opportunity to be showcased on a new and lucrative platform following the conclusion of his sitcom, “30 Rock.”

A representative for Lohan, Deen, Robertson and Hunnam didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A rep for Baldwin declined to comment.

Jo Piazza is the author of “Celebrity, Inc.: How Famous People Make Money” and “Love Rehab”

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.